Following a turbulent day at Pokemon GO Fest in Chicago which saw the event hit with ongoing connectivity and game issues, one good thing has come from the whole event. Well, two actually.

Legendary raids for Lugia and Articuno are now LIVE with Pokemon GO Hub reporting sightings worldwide for the two new Legendary Pokemon.

It follows a recent official announcement from Niantic late this morning which addressed the problems of Go Fest in Chicago and what steps are being taken to compensate disappointed attendees.

"Today at Pokémon GO Fest in Chicago, technical issues created problems for a large number of players attending the event," Niantic admitted.

"From everyone at Niantic, we apologize to all of the Trainers who came out to Pokémon GO Fest today. Although we were able to solve many of the technical issues, we were not able to offer every attendee a great experience.

Niantic is taking the following steps "immediately":

• All registered attendees will soon receive an email with instructions on how to receive a full refund for the cost of their ticket. These instructions will be sent to the email addresses associated with your Pokémon GO account.• All registered attendees will receive $100 in PokéCoins in their Pokémon GO account.• Special Pokémon, Eggs, and check-in PokéStops appearing during Pokémon GO Fest have had their range increased to a two mile radius surrounding Grant Park through Monday morning, July 24. These Pokémon and Eggs will only be visible to Pokémon GO Fest attendees who validated the QR code they received when they entered Pokémon GO Fest. Attendees who were unable to validate their QR code during the event can do so through the special PokéStops through Monday morning.• All registered attendees will have the Legendary Pokémon, Lugia, added to their account.

POKEMON GO FEST UPDATE 5

One final announcement for Pokemon GO Fest today and thats the news that trainers worldwide have successfully worked together (despite issues) and unlocked Legendary Pokemon Lugia via Raid Battle which will begin sometime in the next 48 hours.

In addition, all players in attendance will be gifted the Gen 2 Legendary in their account without the need to fight in a raid battle.

But that wasn't all, Niantic was tracking the contributions of teams throughout the day and with Team Mystic contributed most to the success of the Window Challenges, Gen 1 Mystic Legendary Articuno has also been confirmed as the next legendary Pokemon release after Lugia.

Though, it isn't mentioned exactly how or when Articuno will be released and whether that also means that moving forward Articuno and Lugia are the only two Legendary's available in the game.

Hopefully, there will be more clarity from Niantic in the coming hours so stay tuned.

If you want a reminder of the Legendary Pokemon, see the gallery below:

Pokemon GO - Legendary and Shiny Pokemon Sprites

Take a look at the newly discovered sprites for Pokemon GO's Legendary Pokemon and their Shiny varients.

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Niantic

Zapdos

POKEMON GO FEST UPDATE 4

Pokémon GO Fest hasn't gone as planned and as such attendees will be compensated by Niantic following widespread connection issues throughout the day which left many at the event unable to play the game.

It all started poorly this morning with huge lines to get in and only one entrance with which to let fans in. After several delays players were hit with mass connectivity issues as mobile networks struggled to cope with the demand.

Server issues were also a core problem and eventually lead to huge sections of the crowd chanting "We can't play" during segments of a live Twitch broadcast covering the day's events.

"This is obviously not the way we had the day planned, and it isn't for you either, but we thank you for your patience," said chief marketing officer Mike Quigley on-stage at the event.

Though we can find no official statement, several reputable outlets have confirmed that Niantic will offer Pokemon GO attendees a full refund of their tickets ($20 value), players as well as receive $100 worth of PokéCoins to use in the game.

For those players still in Chicago, the radius of the event will be extended by two miles for the next 24 hours, giving extra opportunities for players to catch the event's many rare creatures, including Unown and region exclusive Heracross.

Nothing has been mentioned on what is occurring with the mystery challenge or that legendary Pokemon we expected to see.

It’s possible that plans could change quickly, so it will be worth keeping an eye on the official Pokemon Go and Niantic Twitter accounts.

POKEMON GO FEST UPDATE 3

So, a third delay to the Pokemon GO Fest which is now scheduled to start at 5PM.

One trainer who is at the event Tweeted: "They expect the end of the line should get in by 5PM. Everyone is p**sed."

@PokemonGOEmpire have also (rightly) raised the question of what these delays will do to the games Challenge Schedule.

"The first Catch Challenge has apparently been delayed by ONE HOUR, although no confirmation yet," claims PokemonGOEmpire.

If so that would mean that the first challenge window, originally scheduled to start at 5pm to 5:30pm BST would in fact start at 6pm to 6:30pm

POKEMON GO FEST UPDATE 2

The Pokemon GO Fest livestream looks to be delayed a little longer, but should get underway in 10 minutes at 4.30PM BST.

It's been reported that players let in are using the games new QR code feature and this prevents spoofers from targeting the event and joining in.

The special PokeStops at Go Fest require players to first scan the QR code, otherwise, they can't take advantage of them.

Equally these QR Codes appear to be unique to each player profile and @PokeJungle suggests that because of this is makes it "pretty much impossible to spin unless you have a ticket and are at Go Fest"

PokeJungle is also reporting that there is, in fact, a change to region exclusives just for Pokemon GO Fest along with more Unown Pokermon spawning:

"@PokeJungle: After lots of hinting during promo, several reports are coming in that Heracross and Unown are spawning in Grant Park for GO Fest"

The special PokéStops at Go Fest! To spin them you need to scan a QR Code given at checkin to prevent spoofers from taking advantage of 'em pic.twitter.com/7sVSX0NGQm

The Pokemon GO Fest livestream on YouTube (below) indicates that everything is getting underway in twenty minutes at 4PM BST.

"Join us live from Grant Park in Chicago, IL for Pokémon GO Fest 2017! We will be covering the event action, Gym Battles, and be monitoring the progress of the world wide event." reads the official desciption for what players can expect from the stream - but we wouldn't rule out a few surprises.

Reports have also surfaced that the game has been updated yet again earlier today, with Legendary Pokemon base capture rates now showing in the GAME Master code.

"The base capture rate has been confirmed to be set at 0.02, with the base flee rare set at 0.04." confirms the Daily Express.

However, there has been no indication which Legendary-type could be making an appearance at Pokemon Go Fest later today.

There's also a new sale in the in-game shop, but unlike the anniversary event sale, the GO Fest sale features massive discounts on Premium Raid Passes, combined with a few more items to make the deal even more attractive.

For example, the Special box costs 480 Coins gets you 6 premium raid passes and 10 x Pinap Berry, which is great when you consider raid passes are normally 100 each.

Pokemon Go Fest finally gets underway later today in Chicago Grant Park and while the event is (obviously) primarily for Pokemon GO Trainers on location in the states, there's plenty of reasons for players the world over to be interested in the event.

Officially Pokemon GO Fest starts at around 9am CST in Chicago - which is 3pm BST as the UK is around six hours ahead - and players not attending can tune in to see the event unfold on Twitch.

That said, it's not yet clear if Niantic plans to start the Pokemon GO Fest Twitch stream the second the event opens the door to players in Chicago. It's probably more likely to start at around 10:30am CST (4.30PM) for the events opening ceremony.

“Join us live from Grant Park in Chicago, IL for Pokemon Go Fest 2017! We will be covering the event action, gym battles, and be monitoring the progress of the world wide event,” the official Twitch page explains.

Of course what fans are most excited for is the introduction of Legendary Pokemon and the games first Legendary Raids, which will more than likely be twined with the planned Pokemon GO Fest challenge schedule already set out by Niantic.

Pokemon GO - Legendary Pokemon Raids in the new trailer

The new Pokemon GO trailer is packed with blink and you'll miss it moments, so here's everything we spotted in the new trailer.

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POKEMON GO CHALLENGE SCHEDULE

During the day, there will be three Challenge Windows in which Trainers in the globe will work alongside those trainers in Chicago to unlock global rewards.

If Trainers around the world manage to catch enough Pokémon during the Pokémon GO Fest Challenge Windows, the first Legendary Pokémon will be revealed in Grant Park.

And IF the Trainers in Grant Park succeed in defeating the Legendary Pokémon, that Pokémon will start appearing in Raid Battles around the world, starting on July 23, 2017.

Players can read over details about how to participate using the below infographic, but the most important detail is that there are three Challenge windows scheduled for the Pokemon Go Fest:

Challenge window 1: 5pm to 5:30pm BST - (11am CST)

Challenge Window 2: 7pm to 7:30pm BST - (1pm CST)

Challenge Window 3: 9pm to 9:30pm BST - (3pm CST)

The first Legendary Raids should commence around midnight BST, 6PM CST and thankfully Niantic earlier this week released further details about how Legendary Pokemon will impact the game.

Niantic

Pokemon GO Fest: unlock special bonuses by taking part in global challenges in July

"We’re excited to reveal that Legendary Pokémon are nearly here!" wrote Niantic on a new blog post earlier this week.

"Soon, millions of Trainers around the world will be able to discover, battle, and catch these extremely rare and very powerful Pokémon.

"As Trainers around the world go out and explore their neighbourhoods in search of Pokémon and Raid Battles, they can keep an eye out for unique Legendary Eggs appearing at Gyms.

"If Trainers and their team are able to successfully defeat a Legendary Raid Boss, they’ll have the opportunity to catch a Legendary Pokémon of their own!

"While Legendary Pokémon will help them take on the toughest Raid Bosses and Gym Battles, they’re not willing to leave their Trainer’s side, so they can’t be left to defend Gyms."

However, the Pokemon Go Fest in Chicago isn't the only Pokemon event taking place this weekend.

Niantic has also ensured plenty more activities across Europe, including one in the UK at Chester's Big Heritage festival, which takes place on July 22 (today) and July 23 (Sunday).

Unlike Grant Park, players can take part in trail activities, with new Pokestops linked with historical landmarks for the duration of the weekend.

There are also activities planned at Chester Castle, which is open to the public for the first time in 20 years.

To help Pokemon GO Trainers, Big Heritage has released a handy map that every Pokemon Go Trainer will want to refer to during the event, as it sets out where the historical sites can be found.

Big Heritage had also confirmed that Legendary Pokemon WILL be involved with the event in some stage this weekend, so you can expect at least one Legendary Raid to appear at some stage.

You can check out the map below:

Niantic

Pokemon GO Chester: Trainers should follow this map

Niantic CEO and founder John Hanke had previously said that he was excited about using the game to encourage players to explore historical landmarks.

"We love the idea of using mobile games as a motivation for families to play outside together and perhaps to learn something interesting while they are at it!"

Big Heritage founder Dean Paton echoed the views, and said that he was proud Chester would be used to test these new ideas.

"We are so excited about working with Niantic Labs, who are true innovators in their field, and as passionate as we are about getting people exploring and learning about the world around them.

"It’s a genuine coup for Chester to be the 'test bed' for some amazing new ideas, and we hope we can use the game based on the iconic and beloved Pokemon brand as a tool for helping more people get excited about the past."